According to "Varzesh 3", the match between Malavan and Tractor was not held under circumstances where the chants raised in the stands and Tractor's decision not to take the field created widespread controversies. One of the important questions was who, prior to Tractor club's decision, should have intervened to control the situation, stop match formalities, or prevent the game from starting.

In every match, the referee, the federation representative, and the match supervisor have defined responsibilities, but their powers before and after the opening whistle are not the same. Explaining this difference, Danial Moradi stated that prior to the start of the match, the referee is only obligated to record and report incidents and does not have the authority to abandon the match.

Regarding the protocol for dealing with ethnic and racist chants, Moradi said: "We are faced with two different situations. One situation is like the Malavan and Tractor match where incidents occur before the start of the match, and the other situation is when the match has started and incidents occur during the game. A protocol was approved from the middle of last season, the definitive implementation of which began from the start of the current season. This protocol has been taught to referees and specifies the steps for dealing with racist or ethnic chants."

The Head of the Refereeing Department explained about the first stage of implementing this protocol: "If the referee hears or is informed of a racist or ethnic chant during the match, in the first step, they stop the match and inform the League Organization representative that if this behavior is repeated, they will suspend the match."

Moradi added: "After that, the match restarts and the League Organization representative gives the necessary warnings to the relevant team so that through club officials, it is announced to the spectators not to continue the chants. If these chants are repeated again, the referee suspends the match for a reasonable period, leaves the pitch, and does not continue officiating until the problem is resolved."

The Head of the Refereeing Department continued: "If the problem is resolved, the match continues again. If the chants are repeated for a third time, the referee, in coordination with the League Organization representative, directly decides to abandon the match. This protocol relates to when the match has started. During the game, the referee has the authority to stop, suspend, or abandon the match based on the determined steps. According to Law Five, the referee must report all incidents and occurrences before, during, and after the match. Their responsibility begins from the moment they enter the pitch to warm up."

Moradi explained about the events prior to the Malavan and Tractor match: "If an incident such as ethnic or racist chants occurs before the start of the match, the referee can report it. At the end of the match or in their report, the referee announces what chants were raised before the start of the match, and dealing with it will be the responsibility of the Disciplinary Committee."

Regarding the scope of the referee's authority before the start of the match, he said: "The referee's decision before the start of the match only has a reporting aspect. The referee cannot independently decide to abandon the match. For the referee to be able to cancel the match, the game must have started and incidents must occur during the match. In addition to the referee, another person is also responsible for reporting these incidents and behaviors during the match. This person is the League Organization representative, who is also technically called the federation representative."

Moradi said about the time of presence of tournament officials in the stadium: "The entry time of the federation representative is different from the referees. The schedule is set in a way that referees are present at the stadium two hours before the start of the match, but the federation representative usually enters the stadium three hours before the game and handles administrative and executive affairs."

Regarding the federation representative's report in the Malavan and Tractor match, he said: "I have no information about Mr. Zargar's report, and the League Organization friends must explain whether any chants were raised from the time of his entry into the stadium, what was heard, and what incidents occurred."

Moradi continued: "If there was an ethnic or racist chant, a warning should have been given so that this behavior would not continue. If the chants continued and the conditions matched the items specified in the protocol, the federation representative could have ordered the match not to start in coordination with the referee. Before the start of the match, the referee only has to report incidents and does not have the authority to cancel the game. At that juncture, if such chants existed, the League Organization representative should have intervened and taken the necessary actions."

Source: Varzesh 3